The sailfin rubberlip (''Diagramma centurio'') is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sweetlips belonging to the family Haemulidae. It is found in the western Indian Ocean.

Description

The sailfin rubberlip has adults and subadults which are overall silvery grey, although they may be marked with many dark brown or black dots on head and back when they are over in length. Smaller subadults have slightly larger orange-brown spots scattered on the upper part of the head, body and

caudal peduncle Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported only ...

. The juveniles at a length of approximately may be grey or yellow, with a wide black band running from the snout through the eye to the rear margin of the

caudal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported only ...

, another runs from top of head to posterior margin of the

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...

. There is an arcing black band from the front of the dorsal fin covering the lower 2/3rd Of the fin. There are black margins on the

pelvic The pelvis (: pelves or pelvises) is the lower part of an anatomical trunk, between the abdomen and the thighs (sometimes also called pelvic region), together with its embedded skeleton (sometimes also called bony pelvis or pelvic skeleton). ...

and

anal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported o ...

s, the corners of caudal fin. There are additional stripes which as the fish grows and once they have attained a length of around the stripes start to fragment into spots. The dorsal fin contains 9-10 spines with the front spines lengthened in smaller juveniles while in adults the 2nd and 3rd spines are the longest, and 21-25 soft rays. The anal fin contains 7 soft rays. This species attains a maximum total length of .

Distribution

The sailfin rubberlip is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the western Indian Ocean. It occurs along the African coast from Kenya to South Africa, in Madagascar, the

Comoros Islands The Comoro Islands are a group of volcanic islands in the Mozambique Channel, an arm of the Indian Ocean lying between Madagascar and the African mainland. Three of the islands form the Union of the Comoros, a sovereign nation, while Mayotte be ...

and the Seychelles.

Habitat and biology

The sailfin rubberlip is found at depths between on coral reefs. The adults tend to be solitary or to live in small aggregations but the juveniles live within beds of sea grass. This is a predatory species which has a diet dominated by crustaceans and small fish.

Systematics

The sailfin rubberlip was first formally described in 1830 by the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

George's Cuvier with the type locality given as the Seychelles. Some authorities place this species in the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Plectorhinchus ''Plectorhinchus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, sweetlips belonging to the subfamily Plectorhinchinae which is one of two subfamilies in the family Haemulidae which also includes the grunts. The species in this genus are found in fresh ...

'', while others regard the genus ''Diagramma'' as a synonym of ''Plectorhinchus''. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

“centurio” is derived from “centurion”, the Roman legionary officer, a reference to the local French colonial name of ''capitaine'' in the Seychelles.

Utilisation

The sailfin rubberlip is caught using caught using hand lines and it is thought of as a quality food fish. It is also caught using

spear A spear is a polearm consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with Fire hardening, fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable materia ...

s. This large species is not suitable for most home aquaria but it is displayed in some public

aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...

References

{{taxonbar, from= Q5687510 Sailfin rubberlip Fish described in 1830